SCS,
an oil and gas exploration company,
filed action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Jan. 8, alleging Tullow and Dana had not met obligations set forth in a joint operating agreement and production sharing contract for an exploration project in offshore Guinea.

SCS requested an emergency arbitrator on Feb. 2, asking for several relief measures, including expedited discovery and accelerated time periods for filing of pleadings or counter claims.

The arbitrator granted only the request by SCS that Tullow maintain certain well plan readiness; all other emergency relief requests were denied.

The arbitrator also ruled that none of the parties in the dispute could pursue further proceedings in District Court.

With this decision, Hyperdynamics officials said that while they will continue looking into other options, they believe all avenues for ways to make Tullow and Dana drill the exploration well as planned had been exhausted.

West Africa Wire is a business journal covering the nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It's our mission to celebrate the entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators driving future development in West Africa.